After several announcements about the start-up of the Drones Unit of the Santa Cruz Local PoliceFinally, this 2023, it will start with two devices and six agents trained to pilot them.
This was announced by the Councilor for Security, Evelyn Alonso, who detailed the complicated bureaucracy involved in setting up this type of service. “We already have the drones and the police trained, and the aeronautical study is delivered to us at the end of the year. We also have the vehicle that will support the technical part of viewing images. As soon as we have the medical certificates from the agents, which is what we lack, between January and February I calculate that we will be able to start it up, ”she said.
There are six agents with the necessary training and permits to fly the drones. “We want there to be a police officer in each operation who can pilot the drones if necessary,” said the mayor.
The use of this drone unit will have to do with prevention, crowd control, traffic… “It is a unit with more powers than Civil Protection, which we have been operating for a long time,” Alonso said.
This will be one of the main novelties of the Security area by 2023. As the councilor pointed out, by separating it from the Mobility area, with the eight million that it has available for next year “we will finish catching up with the normalization of all administrative contracts, which were being covered with minor contracts until I arrived at the area”.
Thus, a framework contract will be signed with the Red Cross to cover the different events in which it participates during the year. “We will be adding addendums, starting with the one at the Carnival hospital, to add care in large crowds, in catastrophes or psychological support.” Another of the milestones is that in 2023 all agents will finally enjoy their own bulletproof vest. “We have allocated 132,561 euros for the purchase of 186 vests,” confirmed Alonso.
